ibanez7

iTrader: (7)

most bang for $400.00 and under.

I'm looking for the most traction and most noticable HP gains for under $400.00!

my thoughts are this!!

Rear lower control arms, I need them anyways, my stock ones are toast.

Flowtech cutout or magnaflow, flow through muffler

Asp underdrive crank pully.

I figure the LCA will eliminate wheel hop, and the exhaust cutout or magnaflow flow through muffler with the ASP Pulley should be good for about 20hp.

current mods on 2001 z28 m6, flowmaster exhaust(sounds great doesnt flow well enough),
slp lid, ported TB(bump stop mod), taylor 10mm wires and ngk plugs and ls6 heads.

note: cams and headers will be this winter.

any suggestions on a better way to spend $400.00???

Ell Ess Won

I have a cutout and it definately helps, and it's sometime fun but sometimes annoying with a A4...dunno about 20 hp gain that seems to high. My flowmasters with the cutout closed sounds good, but it's to quiet and restricting for my tastes.

ibanez7

iTrader: (7)

any other thoughts? come on people, I'm sure you guys have some thoughts!

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

id look into a sticky tire.

blkZ28spt

Pullies are good for the money. Do you have wheelhop? Have you had the car to the track? Are you still on a street tire? Not sure LCA's would help you a lot at the moment.

Cutout will help power, but won't sound all that great. It is a great stop gap until you redo the exhaust upon purchase of longtubes though.

LS1FIRE

iTrader: (1)

I would get Some headers but since your gona get them in the winter A power bond pulley with belts and bolt from tsp $219
Cutout $35. Gain some hp on from them both.


So you got a 145$ dollars left. You could get a electric plate for your cutout for around 110$

LCAs spohn 115$
LCA brackets 65$

LETZ RUN

iTrader: (11)

used nitrous kit.. will no doubt be the best choice.

OldeSkool

I was going to say that earlier but the site was acting up. If you shop around you could get set up to spray dry using all new parts except maybe bottle. 100 shot... lets say 80 hp to the wheels... $400 = $5 per hp...

It may not be there all the time, refills do cost... it may not lay a foundation for future mods... but hey, I didn't care

blkZ28spt

You can not do nitrous right for $400. Nitrous is something you definately don't want to cheap out on either.

nuzee

iTrader: (2)

If you had an A4, I would hands down say get a Crane Powertuner. Because you plan on doing more mods in the future, getting a Powertuner might still be a wise choice. It can grow with your mod levels. And if you ever get tired of it, you can easily sell it! Its going for less than $400 @ Byunspeed, BTW.

I have both an underdrive pulley and a cutout w/flowmaster catback. Both showed improvements on the time slip but not too much on the butt-o-meter. The Flowmaster kind of surprised me recently. I forgot to un-cap my cutout and ran only 0.4 mph slower (109.2 vs. 109.6). The cutout was a great improvement over the stock Z28 catback (1.5-2.x mph). It was never a huge improvement over the Flowmaster (~.5-.7 mph) at slower trap speeds (104-107). I expected it to get more restrictive as the power level increased. But it hasn't yet.

Back to your question, if I were you I 'd get LCAs (~$90), LCA relocation brackets ($110), and subframe connectors for the other $200 or get the Powertuner.

deejaydaze

iTrader: (11)

PaceSetter LTs and TSP true duals where my first mod because I had MAC headers and a badly welded cutout. I would save a little more money and do up your exhaust the way you like it better. I'm not sayin don't put a kit on it, but it's not what I would do.

I spent 840 + a tune and love my exhaust set up

Jadedst

iTrader: (1)

everyone always says to mod their car from the ground up (meaning suspension/tires and then performance) id look into some sub frame connectors if you dont have them already. I just bought a whisper lid (my car is stock) and SFC's will most likely be my next purchase. good luck!

ibanez7

iTrader: (7)

thanks for all of your thoughts.

I agree mod from the ground up, I've done the brakes so I figue suspension is next before huge power gains. but I would like to see a little added HP before summer is over, which is why I was thinking an exhaust cutout and pully would be a good choice, with some suspension mod!

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

I'm not sure how your LCAs would be "toast". They are
not wear parts, really. Lot of people replace them (me
included) eventually but I think tires are number one.
If you have low-end rims then you may be limited by
width and want to step up there. For drag launching
a 15 or 16" wheel and tall rubber seems to be better
though it won't handle as well in the corners. Drag
radials are popular and for the track you might even
want to step up to a purpose tire.

Wheel hop is tires (stick hard or smear), suspension
hard links (lift or plant when stick), shocks (jiggy or
stable) and I think the differential as well. You're not
going to improve the rear end for $400 in any meaningful
way. But the stock shocks are kind of soft, the LCAs
and TA are not that rigid. The relo brackets (used
bolt-ins) and torque arm (used, adjustable) can let
you adjust for maximum bite if you want to do the
time and probably set you back $200 for both. A set
of 1LE bushings and some Home Depot flat stock and
an hour with the welder could get you some right
solid boxed stock LCAs (if you have or have access
to said welder, like a "gasless MIG" flux-cored wire
one). Aftermarket are going to be lighter but I don't
like the look, of most. Anything with "T" joint, tubular
construction I would not put on my street car though
many do. I want a captive pair of bushings, not a
saddle weld between me, the curb and a flopping
rear end.

I found minimal gains from my cutout, measurable but
not in proportion to the expense in my book. This will
change as you improve upstream breathing (heads, cam,
headers against an unimproved muffler, wants a release).
I would save it for that point. Cutout only started to
deliver improvement above 5000RPM, on my car. Power
yes; torque on the street, rarely; amusement potential
at the light next to Fart Can Boy, hell, yeah.

Pulley is in my opinion a mixed bag; lot of people have
marginal charging systems, like hot day + A/C + stereo
= 11V. If this is you, best to at least get the alternator
pulley to spin that back at normal speed, or get the idle
RPM propped up some.

Now the cheapest speed mod is weight reduction, do
not see mention of that yet but you can go look in
the Drag Racing section for a running list or three of
weight reduction candidates, see which ones suit your
preferences (some are "gimmes", others mean you have
to suffer in summertime or eat vinyl if you crash, etc.).

GreekGator

id say go with a set of subframe connectors and a cutout

ibanez7

iTrader: (7)

excellent points listed above.

the reason I say my LCA are shot, is because the rubber bushings are falling apart, so NEW lca are definitely needed. You can hear my current ones banging around.

for HP I was thinking either Cutout, CAI or pulley...

for tires I'm running a 275 x17 nitto street drags, so there is some grip in the back..

Z28LS1camaroguy

iTrader: (3)

yeah i would go with the ASP pulley and or you could get a new throttle body, but if you want power i would go with the nitrous it will definantly give you some horsepower lol.

WS6FirebirdTA00

iTrader: (33)

ok i didnt read all that but i would go with a march pulley if you plan on the cma install and what not soon, gives better harmonics, its fluid damped. dont mess with the exhaust unless you get a cat back because the headers willtake it all right off. i would get a pulley. i got mine from thunder racing. lcas woudl be a nice add on. to help my traction out i did tq arm, rear sway bar, lcas and brackets.

WS6FirebirdTA00

iTrader: (33)

yeah SFC's if you dont have them, the longer you go without them the more your car will twist, making it sit lower in the RRear

jaberwaki

for 400 bucks.

you have made EXCELLENT choices. stick with exactlly what you have chosen.

A cutout will sound better, flow better , and make more power then your current flowmaster.
LCA's will eliminate wheel hop now, and play a larger role later in the game.
and an underdrive pulley will free up hp all day.

20 rwhp from these mods are not as far fetched as others have said.
i gain 13 rwhp over flowmaster in my lt1 with the cutout
and 9 rwhp gained in my ls1 from an underdrive pulley.

absolutly correct... N2O is perfectly safe if set up correctly... if done wronge...BANG!!!

true-er words never spoken..... just keep telling yourself... nope that weights too much... heat sheilds weight too much , bumper supports weight too much, front sway bar weights too much....WWEEEEEEEE...... so far my lt1 is down to 3000 lbs...my goal is 2500